The holidays are officially here! So we’ve called on our newest Sip Squad community member, Adriana Adelé, to give us Glo getters some helpful tips and tricks to staying balanced and energized this season! As a yoga instructor at Three Queens Yoga & Maha Yoga (just to name a few) and the creator of Slay, Adriana uses her experience to lead us through how she plans to make the most of this year’s festivities while keeping up her healthy habits. Check out her full interview below for all the deets:

Tell us a little about yourself and your health & wellness journey.

I’m Adriana Adelé and I am a South Philly transplant (by way of California, by way of Atlanta, by way of St. Thomas), intuitive eater, french fry connoisseur, crop top enthusiast, mindful mover, dog mom, self-proclaimed weather and ankle reporter, and a local yoga teacher. My health and wellness journey has first and foremost been a journey of self-discovery. After moving to Oakland, California post-college, I started working in a too-cool-for-me cafe with a small, but locally-sourced food menu. The baker that supplied the most perfect chocolate pumpkin bread took me under his wing, taught me how to bake, and tipped me off to his favorite restaurants in the Bay (of which there were so many)! His love of and care for food really catalyzed my own. This cafe was down the street from Flying Yoga which soon became my first home yoga studio, where I’d clean mats in exchange for free classes. Though the practice was really hot and fast vinyasa-- so very different from what I practice and teach now-- it was exactly what I needed at the time. Even though my time in the East Bay was brief, it really fostered a love of movement, which had been quite neglected through my college years, and a love of fresh, farm-to-table (a term that wasn’t so played out back then) food—meaning plant-forward and ethically-sourced animal products. This was such a gift especially after growing up, like many, with a disordered, fear-based relationship with food. When I moved to Philly, I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid gland. After my treatment, I spent a couple years adjusting to the hormone replacement needed after thyroid removal and readjusting to my body after weight gain and depleted energy levels. I fell into the world of diet culture repackaged as “wellness lifestyle” world and back into old and counter-productive eating habits hopping from one restrictive “lifestyle shift” (aka diet) to the next. My most profound and impactful shift started after I began learning tantric yoga philosophy. For perhaps the first time, I believed my body and embodiment itself were gifts. I was simultaneously also educating myself about the insidious effects of diet culture. That’s when I really started cultivating my own definition of health and wellness, which for me means trusting the intelligence of my body through intuitive eating—I crave greens as much as I do sweets—measuring the effects of movement and exercise by how I feel and what I can do rather than how I look, and making room for my mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being instead than only focusing on the physical.

With the holidays coming up quick, it can be an exciting but stressful time of year! What are some pro tips you can share with our fellow Glo-getters to stay grounded, connected and stress free this holiday season?

Being a yoga teacher, I’m obviously going to say yoga asana and meditation! But maybe not in the way you usually think about it. Of course, ideally we’d like to carve out 90 minutes for a yoga class or big chunks of time to meditate. But when we’re feeling the hectic vibe of the holidays (or really any times when you’re feeling extra busy), know that some is better than none. Five (or even two!) minutes of closing your eyes and connecting with your breath can shift your internal state. One of my favorite quick visualizations (and I pinky swear I didn’t just make this up for this blog, you can check my insta feed!) is one I call “be the juice” where you visualize your body as a bottle of cold-pressed juice that’s been shaken and set down. Then with every exhale you visualize all the shaken pulpy juice bits (which i pretend are my thoughts) settling to the bottom. I find it really calming. And for yoga asana, my go-to poses for the holidays are quad (front of the thighs) stretches, supported and active backbends, and legs up the wall especially if you have to travel! During the holidays I spend more time in cars and planes than normal and the cold weather tends to make us want to curl up. I like to counteract all that time hunched up by engaging and stretching the quads and the back body. Legs up the wall is great way to settle down after a long day or week and calm your energy especially before bed.

We are here to help our customers create healthy habits that are easy and rewarding, while also supporting a balance (i.e. pass the pie, please!). What are ways you plan to maintain balance and healthy habits through the holiday hubbub?

· Don’t overthink it! I plan to not overthink anything except for the holiday dinner menu. Beyond the fact that I tend to “suffer” from decision fatigue, I’ve started letting of the go of the idea of making “the right-est” choice and whether that means choosing not to fret about which shoes to wear with my holiday party outfit (does anyone reaaaally care that much? And if they care, do I really care?) or if it that means not worry and obsessing about the calories on that second helping. Some dietitians would gasp but for me the amount of stress and potential of negative thought patterns about pie and calories and carbs and macros is way more unhealthy for me than just eating the dang pie. Rather than overthink, my goal is to feel and respond to how I feel with honesty-- recognizing hunger and fullness, acknowledging if I’m feeling energetic and strong or sluggish and stagnant. And if my body and mind feel sluggish and stagnant? Then it’s time for the things that I know make me feel good in heavy, sluggish moments like yoga, walk, SLT, dance around our my living room, or a big plate of greens.

· Schedule time for yourself! I’m a bullet-journaler with my yoga teacher schedule it’s the best way for me to keep track of all my to-dos and not double book myself. I get a lot of joy out of looking a week or month ahead and crossing out evenings with the plan to not make any plans if I can. Sometimes, life happens and I have to schedule over my chill time but I do my best to reschedule. As an extroverted introvert, time to recharge is key. But if you’re in need of some human connection, schedule some time with those friends that recharge you or get involved in a community group.

We are all busy, tired, motivated individuals trying to do better for ourselves both mentally and physically. What healthy habits have you adopted that you find most helpful during your day-to-day?

· Meditation! (I know...again…I think it’s because that’s what I need the most) It took me a little while to come around to seated meditation but it’s been one of the most high impact, low cost habits I’ve added to my day-to-day. Even just five informal minutes before I head out the door helps set the tone and bring clarity to my day! Sometimes, I meditate in bed while my fiancé and pup are snoozing or on my kitchen counter while I wait for my tea or coffee water to boil. When I can carve out time for longer sessions I do, but I never underestimate the power of a few minutes. And even if my thoughts are jumping from my grocery list to my classes to “did I really say that?!” for those five minutes, it gives me a good reflection of my mental state that day and practice in acknowledging my thoughts and letting them go.

· Staying hydrated!! This is one that I have to actively work at on the daily. Whenever I’m feeling “off”, I like to down a glass of water and it’s kind of ridiculous how often and how much it helps. Plus, this cold northeastern weather sucks the life out of my skin in the winter and as much as I love fancy body creams and exfoliating scrubs, if I’m not hydrated from the inside out they’re just a band-aid.

· Having a little morning routine! Personally, I got an alarm clock—like a real one with dials and numbers and 7 different sounds with no phone attached—and it’s made a world of difference. Waking up without a little portal of blue light telling me about what everyone else is doing and reminding me that the world is so messy has been a game-changer. I like to do a mental gratitude list then sneak in a quick meditation followed by hot water + lemon + honey + turmeric & ginger syrup. It’s short, it’s sweet, and i’ve noticed days that I start with this routine feel better (even if due to external circumstances they don’t really go better) than days that I don’t.

What’s your favorite Sip-N-Glo drink and why?

Radiant Glo is my favorite juice! I’m usually drawn to anything with turmeric. The flavor is bright and citrusy but a little earthy and warm all at the same time. My favorite smoothie right now is the Buzzed smoothie because coffee goodness. I go through periods of drinking coffee and not for a whole host of reasons. Right now I’m definitely on and the Buzzed smoothie is my the perfect between classes and errands pick me up!

Like what you read? Check out Adriana at @adrianaadele or at one of her classes throughout the city.